Why does a woman stay with a man who hits her? And what does it take for her to finally choose to leave? This fall, two ambitious novels by Montreal writers tackle those complex questions: So Much It Hurts, by Monique Polak, and Lily and Taylor, by Elise Moser.

Chilly mornings with high blue skies, golden afternoons with leaves tumbling into the wind – autumn has come to Southern Quebec, and, with it, an awakening need to prepare for the ice and snow to come.